Bengal rights panel seeks action against three cops

Syndicated from IANS |
Published on ​ Thu, Oct 11 2012 20:42 IST

Kolkata, Oct 11 : The West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) Thursday recommended disciplinary action against three police officers for dereliction of duty in connection with the rape of a teenage girl in South 24 Parganas district.

The Commission also directed the trio to pay a monetary fine that would be awarded as compensation to the victim.

A 15-year-old girl was gang raped in the Partharpratima block in the district on April 10, 2010.

Two officers of the local police station, Gopal Biswas and Hiranmay Chakrabarty did not register a first information report (FIR) when the victim and her family members approached the police station.

"The WBHRC has prima facie found two officers of Partharpratima police station guilty of dereliction of duty. They were indifferent to the victim's complaint and did not do justice when she approached the police station," said the panel's joint secretary Sujay Haldar.

The two have been asked to pay Rs.20,000 each as fine.

An FIR was registered only when the family members of the victim approached the WBHRC nearly two months afterwards.

Ranendranath Banerjee, the then Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) of the district, who conducted an enquiry at the behest of WBHRC was also "indifferent to the neglect of the two officers".

"He did not even speak to the victim during his enquiry," said Haldar adding that Banerjee has been directed to pay a fine of Rs.25,000.

During the investigation, the WBHRC also learnt that police initially tried to pressurise the victim's family asking them to not register a complaint.

Following the intervention of the WBHRC, two people - Bidesh Gole and Chandan Gole - were arrested for the alleged crime.